Runaway

By Blueberrie

Disclaimer: see chapters one and two

Chapter 4

He felt nothing but cold numb, agonising pain. Was Sirius crying last night…whenever it was…how long have I been out? Why was he crying? Because I was dead and he was really a family friend? Or because I was dead and he didn't get to kill me the way he liked? Harry's thoughts were muddled.

The small boy was lying beneath a large old oak tree, shielding the boy from the midday sun.

It hurt him so much to breathe, but shouldn't he be dead?

He felt a warm fuzzy energy on his right leg after a few muttered words. Harry snapped his eyes wide open, but all he saw was a deep endless blackness. He tried to control his frightened gasps, but failed miserably.

He vaguely felt the warmth of the sunlight on his arm, beneath all the mind numbing pain.

"Where am I?" the boy whispered blindly, cocking his head slightly, alert to all the sounds surrounding him.

"You're awake." Harry could almost picture Sirius smiling down at him.

The boy slowly moved his head around to where he had heard the voice. "Where are you?" he asked feebly, his eyes searching wildly for any sign of the man beside him.

"Your vision will come back soon, don't worry. I just need to get you all fixed up." His voice was softer than before, full of concern. Harry felt himself longing to know this man, maybe he didn't commit all those crimes those nice people of the T.V said he did.

"Fixed up? You're taking me to a hospital? Wouldn't you get caught?" Harry questioned, confusion etched on his bruised and battered face.

Sirius's smile disappeared as quickly as it had came; it was replaced by a frown, his eyes creased up in worry. "No, I will heal you myself. Muggle methods take to long and there are more risks involved." Sirius felt a sense of relief, Harry was begging to trust him, but it was too soon, he was too trusting with strangers, what if he was a Deatheater? What would happen then?

"Muggle?" Harry echoed, his frown deepened; as did Sirius'.

"Non-magical people." Sirius answered simply, he watched Harry's expression closely. He was angered by what he saw. "You don't know about witches and wizards." The man said to himself through gritted teeth.

"My uncle said there's no such thing as magic." Harry broke the tense silence. His voice was emotionless, like he had those very words gritted into his mind. But his eyes betrayed his true feelings, within his emerald orbs shone hope, and a thirst to prove his uncle wrong.

Harry felt more warm energy on his right leg after a few more muttered words. Harry didn't quite catch the phrase, but he was certain it wasn't English.

They sat in silence for about an hour, with Sirius working on his wounds. Harry could now breath easily. But his limbs felt heavy, the gentle tingling feeling had worn off.

Sirius lifted up the boys hospital garments, exposing his bruised and battered stomach and chest. Harry felt Sirius tense beside him. Sirius leaned forward slowly, and gently lifted up the dressing covering up an old wound on the boy's lower stomach. Harry flinched slightly, and scrunched his eyes up tightly in pain; a single tear leaked down his cheek.

Sirius eyed the old wound and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. A harsh bruise surrounded the puncher wound. The bruise was a swirl of blue's, black, red's, yellow's and green's. The wound was weeping furiously; blood mixed with a clear, yellow tinted liquid. "How is he still alive?" Sirius asked himself in a whisper that Harry didn't quite catch.

"Is it bad?" a small voice broke Sirius' troubled thoughts.

Sirius looked back at it, his blue eyes full of concern and sadness. The puncher wound had reopened and become infected, blood seeped slowly out of the wound, running slowly across the bruise and pale, pasty skin. Sirius drew in a long breath as he took in his godson's form. His ribs stuck out painfully far, with his pale skin stretched over them. Harry had whip like marks across his front and back. "No…It's fine, it's not that bad." Sirius lied.

"Can you heal it?" Harry asked, he was just begging to make out shadows, and Harry noted he was looking away from him.

"Yes…Yes I can, but it will be sore for a few days. And that's no climbing tree's for you." Sirius tried to lighten the mood, and Harry could almost make out his smile. "Is this why you were in hospital?" Harry nodded; a pained look clouded his unseeing eyes. "Who did it?" Sirius asked gently, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings, narrowing dangerously and glistening in anger.

Harry looked directly into Sirius blue eyes, his vision was rapidly becoming clear. "It doesn't matter." Harry spoke softly, Sirius eyes darkened and narrowed; the boy looked away quickly, unable to meet Sirius' bloodthirsty gaze.

"Was it your Uncle?" Sirius spat, causing the boy to flinch.

Harry avoided his gaze, blinking back tears. I won't cry…I won't cry. "Ye…" Harry took a deep breath and locked eyes with his 'Godfather', "He was angry, things weren't going his way. He started yelling at me…" Harry broke off, unable to go on. A single tear rolled down his pale cheek, which he hastily wiped away with a bony bandaged hand.

Black griped the wand so tightly he was sure it would snap; it wasn't as good as his own was, but it would have to do with survival. He carefully healed the remaining wounds as best as he could, a dark bruise remained where the boy was stabbed. It relived Sirius greatly that it wasn't as infected as he first thought, but would still cause the boy some trouble some time to come.

"Feel better?" He asked the boy softly, who was eyeing the wand with amazement. Harry nodded his head vigorously, a huge smile plastered on his face. Harry even surprised himself when he jumped up and hugged the man, but it just felt so natural to him.

"Thank you." Harry whispered into Sirius' ear. Sirius wrapped his arms around the small boy and buried his head by the boy's neck, familiarising himself with Harry's scent…and remembering past times. Harry pulled away, "How do I know you?"

The question caught Sirius by surprise, "I…I err, I knew your parents, we attended the same school. A school where they teach magic. Your mother was a very powerful witch, and your father was a very powerful wizard. I was there at your birth, I was with you all the time." A dreamy look came across Sirius' face as he remembered. "Your father was right annoyed when you said my name, Padfoot, before his, Prongs." Black smiled to himself.

"Does that mean…that I'm a wizard too? Like my mum and dad?" Harry asked hopefully "And that I'm not abnormal like my Uncle says. Are there many witches and wizards?"

"Yes Harry you're a Wizard, and yes, there are quite a few of us." Sirius smiled, but his expression instantly darkened as he lowered himself to Harry's eye level, twigs snapped under his shift in weight. Harry noticed they were in the same woods that he had been in before he got hurt. "Harry, do not believe a word that son of a bitch has ever said to you!" Sirius whispered through gritted teeth. He looked ready to murder and Harry was thankful Sirius wasn't mad at him. Harry painfully lowered himself back to the ground.

Sirius stood up to his full height and towered over the small boy lying on the ground, "Harry, I have to go and do something, promise me that you won't wonder off and get hurt?"

"I promise." Harry replied honestly, though doubts of Sirius being innocent still lingered in the back of his mind, and they were slowly creeping back to the surface.

Sirius nodded at him, "Stay hidden and stay away from people dressed in black robes and white masks, their bad news, they will hurt you if they get their hands on you." Sirius said, and he was dead serious, worry was carved into his once youthful handsome face. And Harry noticed Sirius was down right terrified of what might happen if the strange men in black clocks and white masks got hold of him.

"What do they want with me?" Harry asked innocently.

Sirius hesitated, unsure of how to answer. "I'll tell you when you're older, I don't want this bothering you at this age." Harry nodded, accepting his answer. "I'm going to give your uncle a little surprise visit."

Harry jumped when the man in front of his disappeared from sight with a pop.

The boy stirred in his sleep, voices were getting closer and louder. Harry shot up awake in a panicked frenzy. "Sirius?" He asked softly. He listened harder, trying to make out the voices. There were two men, he was sure about that.

One of the voices belonged to a short, plump man. His voice was high pitched and trembled with nerves on edge. Harry froze; they were dressed in long black robes. Sirius' serious voice echoed in his head. Harry looked around himself wildly, searching for a hiding place. His head shot up, looking at a tree nearby. He had to climb it, injured or not, or those two strange men would find him.

Harry jumped up to the first branch that was thick enough to support his weigh and swung his leg over it. He scrambled to his feet and reached to the next branch, climbing up to it with the aid of a slightly lower one. His old wound protested painfully as he slammed into the next branch, he gasped in pain and bit his lower lip to keep from crying out loud. The strange men were getting closer.

Harry drew a long breath and swung one of his dangling legs over the branch, he looked down, and he must have been 20 feet up in the air. The tree was unnaturally big for an oak tree. It must be magical. Harry carried on the next branch, almost losing his grip.

One more branch, he told himself, and he can stop and rest. His forehead was coated in sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead covering his scar. He took a deep breath and released it slowly before heaving himself up onto the last branch.

The branches were unusually thick, making it easy for Harry to lay down on his stomach to catch his breath. He looked straight down 25 feet of tree to where he had been just 5 minutes before. Below him were the two men in strange cloaks, talking.

Great! I can't even hear them! Harry thought to himself angrily. Harry silently lowered himself 10 feet. Here he could hear the two men talk almost perfectly.

"Wormtail!" The taller man yelled, "I have already told you all you need to know." Harry was instantly reminded of his uncle, over confidant and think they are better than everyone else is. His voice was silky and smooth, his cold grey eyes glared through the mask at the cowering man.

"I-i'm s-s-sorry Mr. M-m-malfoy." The small man stuttered, sinking away from his companion's glare.

"Harry Potter and Sirius Black have been spotted near by here." Malfoy spoke as if he were speaking to a small child. Harry held his breath when his name was said. "From recent sightings, it appears that Black has kidnapped Potter and is holding him against his will. As Potter does not trust Black, it will be easy to gain his trust…" He stopped, interrupted.

"H-how will w-we gain h-his t-t-trust?"

Malfoy's glare became harsher, and Wormtail stepped back. "We will tell him that we are here to help him, and that Black is trying to kill him."

Fear rose in Harry's throat, was it true? All his doubts of Sirius flew to the surface of his thoughts.

"Black is trying to kill his g-godson? W-why would h-he do that? H-he l-l-loves the brat." Wormtail spat.

Harry released a breath he hadn't known he was holding, closed his eyes briefly and sighed in relief.

"Of course he's not going to murder the little bugger! If he was then he'd be on our side!" Malfoy raged. "Once we gain Potter's trust we can lure him away and Blacks very likely to follow." Malfoy explain through gritted teeth, an iron grip on his wand beneath his robes. " And then while I torture Black, you tell the brat the truth, which is?" Malfoy was growing increasingly impatient.

"T-t-the truth? O-oh…uh…. T-that I b-betrayed his p-parents to L-lord V-v-voldemort…and…. and that I m-murdered t-those 12 people a-and faked m-my own d-death…framing it on S-sirius." Wormtail looked pleased with himself for finally getting something right.

"Oh my g-god…" Harry breathed, "Sirius wasn't lying, he's innocent…" Harry smiled to himself. "But the trap, they are going to hurt Sirius…" Harry closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. The longing to be loved grew even greater; Sirius loved him that's why he was helping him. Harry glared down at the two men below him; they were not going to take Sirius away from him. He would convince Sirius to leave in the morning tomorrow. But the next part of the conversation 15 feet below him made his heart skip a beat.

"And when does this plan take place? Wormtail?" Malfoy drawled.

"Tonight." Harry's eyes shot towards the sun; good, it was a couple of hours past midday. There was plenty of time. If only Sirius would come back soon.

"Now, Wormtail, you hide down there," Malfoy pointed towards a small clump of bushes, Harry frowned, confused. How was he meant to fit in there? "Good bye, and don't mess this up or Merlin help you." Malfoy disappeared in a pop; similar to how Sirius had disappeared.

Harry realised with a sinking feeling that these men were also magical, and very powerful, especially the man named Malfoy.

Wormtail disappeared with a louder pop, and there where he had stood was a rat. Green eyes followed the rat to its hiding place; the rat never left their gaze.

Wormtail in rat form scattered away from it's hiding place after about half an hour. Harry waited a good 5 minutes before risking climbing out of the tree and running to the hiding place Sirius had located for him.

Harry sat in the dark cave until the day turned into night, and still Sirius hadn't returned. He visibly shook, not from coldness, but from fear. He could hear voices near, calling out to him, trying to coax him out of his hiding place. Sirius had given him a cloak to put on if he wanted to be not seen, he had said it was magic.

Sirius appeared out of no where with a pop, and Harry ripped the cloak off and ran to the man. Sirius frowned, "What's wrong?" he kneeled down to Harry's eye level, and held him out in front of him, searching for an answer in the boys green orbs.

"Their here." Harry whispered, terrified. Sirius froze; he listened intently to the night.

Sirius grabbed Harry and picked him up and hurled the invisibility cloak over him and the boy in his arms.

Five figures stood at the mouth of the cave, all dressed in black robes and white masks. Harry tightened his grip on Sirius and buried his head on his shoulder; silent tears flowed down the boys terrified face.

End of Chapter

I am so so so sorry it took me 10 months to update! But I've been busy with well…life. AKA: Boys and exams…yup, very important! But finally! Here it is! Chapter 4: D Well I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I love reading your reviews! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, you all mean the world to me! Thank you to: Stinky Stan, Harrypfan001 TEACHERLADY, angletears3, Yana5, Happy Pappy duck, Padfoot-Dog1234, BlackDawn, wolfawaken, Lady Taliesin, CBF21202, Lillytheflower, ahappyjtm, klnolan and honeyduck!